Recap: Canadiens 5, Maple Leafs 2

Canadiens 5, Maple Leafs 2: Max Pacioretty scored twice to give visiting Montreal its first win in three games against Toronto.

Defenseman Alexei Emelin scored in the first period and rookie Brendan Gallagher tipped blue-liner Josh Gorges' point shot past Ben Scrivens midway through the third for the Canadiens, who have points in their last nine games. Carey Price made 21 saves and captain Brian Gionta added an empty-net goal to ice the game.

Frazer McLaren and Clarke MacArthur scored for Toronto, which defeated Montreal 2-1 and 6-0 earlier this season. Scrivens stopped 35 shots but the Maple Leafs saw their three-game home winning streak come to an end.

Pacioretty, who has six goals in his last six games, scored his first of the game with six seconds remaining in a major penalty to Mike Brown after the puck deflected off his knee as he skated in front of the net. Pacioretty then beat Scrivens with a wrist shot to give the Canadiens a 4-2 lead with 5:34 remaining.

Michael Ryder, who was acquired by Montreal from Dallas along with a third-round pick in exchange for Erik Cole on Tuesday, played 14:34 but didn't register a shot and finished minus-1. Ryder was drafted by the Canadiens in 1998 and played his first four seasons with Montreal, recording a career-high 63 points in his rookie season of 2003-04.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Toronto G James Reimer dressed and served as the backup. Reimer has not played since straining his left MCL on Feb. 11. ... The two Original Six rivals have split each season series since the 2003-04 season, when Toronto won four of six meetings. The five-game series in this truncated season guarantees a winner. ... Raphael Diaz, who leads Canadiens defensemen with 13 points on the season, missed the game with a concussion suffered on Monday.